A Lucky Kiss
by Tugiacat
Summary: Milo is unable to make it to a special tradition of the Murphys in Christmas due to harsh weather conditions and Murphy's Law. Fortunately, he's already got a girl he knows to cover that for him. Read and review!
1. The Tradition

**Author's Note: Welcome everyone, to another fic I specifically wrote for Christmas. (Wait, it's still not Christmas yet. Well, I'm just writing the 1st chapter of this themed story).**

 **And this obviously will be another Milanda fic, I can tell you that. (But for this Christmas, I actually have written two fics. The second one is pretty short, so it'll belong to the "Milo and His Friends" series.)**

 **This story could be set anywhere though, whether in canon or fanon, it's up to you guys!**

 **Anywho, that's a little thing for you to notice. Hope the story will be as beautiful as it can be.**

* * *

 _A very Murphy tradition._

 _This is a story about a tradition that a male Murphy does each Christmas, and they rather do it for themselves._

 _A Murphy family reunion? That is fun, and disastrous, and adventurous, but we're not talking about the usual tradition._

 _This tradition was rather formed by a religious belief. It was orignally called "Luck for Love," but eventually, the captain of the S.S. Murphy changed the name to the one we use until now, "A Lucky Kiss."_

 _So what's about the whole kissing thing? It is not what you think, children and immature adults! We're not standing under a mistletoe and a couple just kissing each other like there's no one spotting them. Well, maybe that mostly happens, but the Murphys are much more oblivious than that._

 _The belief which Sheriff Murphy found proves something like this: if a female [Murphy] kisses a male Murphy on his cheek or maybe on his lips if the girl is his husband, it indicates that female wishes you to have good luck and better chance in the future. And that is true since you know, the female Murphy aren't affected by Murphy's Law and they've always done their work better than the Murphys themselves._

 _So why it doesn't have to be the Murphy. Because recently, there was the youngest member in the Murphy family had made an exception, that a girl he crushed on could also get a chance to kiss him and wish him good luck, despite she hadn't been in the family tree yet._

 _Find out more as the story keeps progressing!_

* * *

 **Monday, 24th December, 9:25 p.m., The Murphy Residence.**

The Murphys were decorating the house to prepare for tomorrow. Martin was really delightful about the whole tradition while he was putting the neon light bulbs on the wall and humming to a song.

Brigette and Sara had finished the final touch – a long Christmas blanket covering the sofa – right before they sat down for a while and relaxed. Seeing the Murphy adult happy, the gals couldn't calm themselves with a giggle.

"So, am I old enough to be in the Murphy tradition?" Sara excitedly asked.

"Yes, yes you are," Brigette confirmed, "It's a belief the Murphy family having for years."

"Oh yes," Martin added from the ladder, "We believe that when a female in the Murphy family kisses a Murphy man, that Murphy will have a peaceful Christmas and we will be granted best wishes in the future."

"That sounds so awesome! You're the greatest dad in the world and I want you to be with us forever!" Sara stated happily upon hearing her father's words, "But why do we have to wait until 10 p.m. Is that traditional as well."

Brigette laughed, "Oh no... It's your father. Blame him."

"I just want to get a perfect time!" He replied, as he opened the curtains of a window and looked through the weather, "Besides, Milo is at school right now. It's kinda weird to see the heavy flurries in this time of the month."

"Well, Murphy's Law is unpredictable," Brigette quoted, "as Milo would say."

* * *

 **9:30 p.m., Jefferson County Middle School**

" _The snow flurries are getting heavier and worse. We warn you to stay inside any house you can possibly find and remember, DON'T GET OUT WITHOUT AN RV!"_

Principal Milder turned off the weather forecast, announced, "So, I guess we'll stay here by tomorrow because of someone..."

The principal stopped mid-sentence, obviously referred to a student as the other students looked at him.

"Oh... she's referring to me, right?"

"What are we gonna do now?" Melissa felt kinda anxious, "My dad isn't gonna be happy when I'm outside my home," but that changed quickly, "Well, he used to be, back to when I was seven."

Zack followed, grabbed Melissa's hand to his emotion "And my parents are really worried too. Or I guess they're not, since they prefer to be alone without their precious son."

She spotted his action, let her hand off of him quickly, asked, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to," he said, "I just flow with my emotions."

Milo grew more worried than usual, "I didn't scare of the snow. It's just that there's a tradition in my family and I can't miss it."

"What is it?" Melissa asked, "Getting the whole family together?"

"As much as I'd like to tell you, Melissa, I can't. It's a family secret," He stated, which the girl silently moaned.

All he could do was looking around the classmates before having anoter conversation with his two best friends again. Until he spotted someone's missing.

" _Where's Amanda?!"_

His worriness had almost reached his limit. Where could the poor girl go in this kind of weather like this? But then he thought, she had to be someone in school where he hadn't found out yet.

"A reading contest?" Melissa read a poster on a wall.

That suddenly reminded him of Amanda's habit – reading.

And right after that, he got an idea of where Amanda was. Milo quickly ran upstairs without anybody noticing. After that, he naturally came towards to the room he had just thought of.

The library.

He entered the room and let the door open without knowing the fact that Amanda was the last one in the library to keep the key for the librarian.

Anyway, Milo carefully stepped his step in order not to trigger Murphy's Law. There were some books falling but with his quick reflex, he turned them in to the shelf where they were.

Finally, he came to the main reading space. And a very view in front of him then almost made him off-guard.

Relieved that the girl was still safe, he took the chance to 'at least' say hi, "Hi Amanda!"

The girl gasped after Milo had broken the silence. Amanda felt weird and worried, wonder why a Murphy was there, "Hi Milo!" She smiled back to reassure him, asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I didn't see you anywhere downstairs and since you love to read, I figured out I should come to the library and I was right, you're here."

"Oh..." the girl breathed. It was turned out that Milo was just worried for her, "Thank you, Milo."

Having spotted her expression, Milo said, "I've found you and... I guess I'll just let you have your own space."

Milo just waved goodbye at her calmly before going out. Even though he would love to stay around, he shouldn't stay too long to anybody, especially Amanda. He kinda gets used to it, but it's really bummed since he really wants to hang out more with the sweet girl.

Amanda meanwhile, felt worried but herself also remained something pity. Being Milo must have been kind of let down when you never have a good chance to hang out with friends. But her other side told her shouldn't let the emotion rule over.

" _Ugh! I'm really selfish when I'm thinking for myself!"_

That was the last thought of Amanda. And it led to 'Amanda wouldn't let Milo go just like that."

She grabbed Milo's hand and made him stop getting out of the library. Milo was curious, questioned, "What is it, Amanda? Do you need me in anything?"

The girl sighed again before requesting, "Milo... Do you like reading?"

"Yes! I love stories! It has been such a long time since I finished a story," He revealed his feelings, "But what was that for?"

"You know..." Her face revealed blush while she was offering, "Since you're here, how about we're going to read something together?"

Milo grew his eyes in surprise, his cheeks were kinda blushed as well, "But Amanda, you're having your own time and space. I don't want to ruin that."

"Oh that..." She giggled before reassruing the boy by rubbing her hands on his shoulder, "Don't worry. I'm not reading anything important. Besides, I'm not gonna let a reader to have his chance of reading taken away just because he's a Murphy."

She came in and directed Milo to come inside, "Come on, Milo! Go ahead!"

Milo was taking slow steps. He was too surprised to express anything, just said, "Thanks, Amanda!"

"You're welcome!" She replied back before reaching a table as they were sitting together. _"Hope the perfection side of me won't grow. It would be really bad."_

"Hey Amanda, I want to ask you something."

"Of course! What is it, Milo?"

"If I came here and caused Murphy's Law, would you be charged for that?"

"Ah... I see," Milo got her again, his worriness he gave, "I'm not techincally in charge of anything in the library. I just have the chance to keep the keys of the library for today. If I'm not in charge of it, I won't be really worried."

"Oh..." Milo nodded.

"Now let's shrug off everything you're holding and starting the real thing!"

"Wait, what real thing?"

The girl giggled again, pushed Milo aside and almost made him fall on the floor, "Like you said, today is the day you're going to finish a story after such a long time."

It's more of a conclusion to what Milo said than what he said, "I don't know I've said that but, that is very nice of you!" He said.

"Well then, let's get started," She started with a question, "What kind of story do you like? Is it about romance, frienship, or family..."

Speaking of family, Milo's mind flew to somewhere else, as a very important thing was going to happen that day, "Oh no!" He stood up, trying to go elsewhere, "It's my family tradition today and I have to make it," But then he remembered being said about the weather condition, "Oh right... Murphy's Law has trapped me inside the school," and he sat down again, faced down in sadness of never gonna make it.

"What is that tradition, Milo?" Amanda curiously asked. She was about to hold his head up, but it took her two attempts to do that since you know, Murphy's Law and the perfectionist.

She pushed from below his chin and made him face her, "From the way I know, it's really important," she said before faced elsewhere and looked at the snow from the library's window, "I kinda miss my family too."

"You do?" Milo was surprised until he realized what he just said, reworded sheepishly "Oh, I mean, you're reading books... at a library... and... oh, now I get it."

"The waiting is killing me, so, reading is the best choice while we're all waiting for this to over."

"I see what you're doing!" Milo said, "Let us go!"

But Murphy's Law interrupted them again, with Amanda's realization, "Milo? Have you let the door open while we're in here."

"Yeah?" He questioned, but quickly reached her thoughts, "Oh no!"

It was too late for them to do anything. The freeze wind blew, slammed the door back and broke the security system in the room, ended up the whole room suffering the blackout.

Amanda clenched her teeth in fear, but Milo got her cover. They both used flashlights taking out from Milo's backpack, ran towards to the door and tried to open it.

"It's jammed!" Milo stated, "We're _really_ trapped in this room."

That was really terrifying. Spotted the girl's worriness, it was his chance to calm her, by wrapping his arm around her shoulder, "Don't worry, Amanda. We're still trapped in here anyway, right? It's just a little dark, that's all."

Now that she thought of it, he was right, "I guess you're right. But we can't read anything in this blackout right now."

 **(Back to the main room of the school)**

The lights were still on from the outside.

The principal heard some noise from outside, "What was that noise? Can anyone hear it?"

A student approached to her and replied while she was still listening, "I think it's the building settling."

"Really?" Principal Milder received the answer sarcastically, "So to you, the building wants to say something about being jammed in a room?"

From a corner of the room, Melissa and Zack walked from side to side, being worried about missing Milo.

"Where could he be? We're just talking to him for a minute and then... boom!" Melissa exclaimed.

"Don't worry!" Zack reassured, "I'm sure he'll be fine. And by the way, have you seen Amanda anywhere?"

"I have no clue, either," She stated, "Do you think...?"

"I see what you're thinking," Zack said his guess, "That Amanda forgot caculating our last bet yesterday."

And that guess immidiately threw in the garbage dump, as Melissa punched his arm, "No! Let that for later. What I'm thinking is, maybe Milo and Amanda are trapped inside a room."

"Oh that..." He replied, "Well, we just assume that they're dating. What could go wrong?"


	2. Let's Go, Murphys!

**Author's Note: I'm back with a new chapter! And get ready, 'cause Christmas is getting warmer and warmer, and closer and closer.**

* * *

 **9:50 p.m., the library of Jefferson County Middle School.**

Milo almost ran out of stuffs in his backpack, yet he couldn't fix the fuse box inside the library. And he remembered one time he having fixed one easily.

And Amanda's key didn't work as well. Even if she unlocks the locker outside, the door will still be locked by the system.

"It's no use like, at all. Why do they even use keys for if there's already a security system?" She moaned to the uselessness of the old-school locker.

Anyway, things were getting tougher and tougher for Milo and Amanda. All they could do then was freely waiting until the lights back on in a few minutes, as the boy informed. He also prepared an electric candelabra which he used when he, Zack and Melissa retreived a math book Melissa forgot, and since Amanda wasn't there at that time, she was curious to the thing.

"And that's how I get the candelabra from my babysitter Veronica," Milo revealed to the girl, "which is very often since she runs the whole pizza division."

"I am truly amazed, Milo," She admitted, "You always believe you've got everything you need while most of the time they're useless."

"Anyway, the light should be enough for two of us," he said while putting the candles on one of the library's table, setting the mood when there were only two faces being revealed, just knowing to look at each other and not to look anywhere else.

 **10:20 p.m., the music room**

The weather was harsh out there. Blizzards were coming and blowing harder, along with heavy flurries and a few thunders. Being trapped inside with no idea when _their lights_ would come to them, metaphorically. Everyone in the school just knew that they were going to wait inside, even if they had to risk their lives, as long as that darn snow storm would stop.

Everyone in the music room had taken their place and of course, pillows and blankets. There were a few of those, but at least they had alternatives, their jacket if they already had a blanket, and if they hadn't had it, they could use a cotton box and fold it to a pillow.

The school wasn't made for home staying for students. Mrs. Elizabeth Milder, the principal, hadn't prepared for that. She had done her best to calm the students before they got to sleep and hoped for a brighter tomorrow. The second rehearsal room of Just Getting Started soon was out of lights. The unlucky students and faculties had to sleep inside the school while waiting for the incident to get over.

The windows of a few school's halls and the room itself couldn't hold it anymore, as freezing winds came in to the gaps between windows, flew into the tiny space of the door and slightly freezed the whole room. Had they realized how much important a blanket or a chimney would be then.

In all the students, Melissa and Zack might be the poorest of all. They just carried along some jackets, socks and shoes to wear, but with the hard storm, those alone weren't enough. That was the time they shared the heat of their bodies and used the advantage of being placed in the corner of the music room.

Zack could only lie down by sitting, since he didn't have pillows like his classmates. Anyway, he used the corner and depended on it. While Melissa was lying, her legs were on top his and crossing forty-five degrees. She used Zack's shoulder as her pillow and lied her head there. Her puffy hair not only made that more easier, but also made Zack at least feel warmer. The boyband meanwhile, crossed one hand along her waist. It felt like they could do anything to make themselves warm.

At least they had stars and white snow on behalf of the night.

 **10:30 p.m., The Murphy Residence.**

" _And that was the new episode of The Doctor Zone Files, folks!"_ The Murphy looked at the screen, as it rolled the credits and sang the theme song again.

"And that was the DVD I bought!" Sara informed to her parents, "The cables are not working apparently due to the extreme storm."

"Okay, that's it!" Martin suddenly stood up, broke the mere silence, "How is that kind of weather even possible? It just doesn't make any sense!"

"Hon, are you scared of not getting a Murphy kiss in time?" Brigette teased, but the husband did get more serious.

"No, Brigette! I'm not afraid of not having a Murphy kiss this year. It's just really bad that Milo can't make it to our tradition _this year_."

Brigette spotted his sense, followed, "You're right! How could Milo miss this kind of event? He's going to become a Murphy man at his age, right?"

Sara chained up, "Of course! Let's go and find Milo!"

The heroic music stopped, as she came to a realization, "But how are we gonna save him in this kind of weather?"

Martin trailed off of his character, devilly laughed before revealed, "Oh, don't you worry about that."

The camera came closer to him, as he squinted his eyes to the fourth wall confidently, whispered, "I used to be a monster truck driver."

* * *

Scene changed to the Murphys, inside a 'monster truck' ordinary truck.

"Um..." Brigette was expecting something more excited, "Where's the real monster monster truck, dear?"

"It's right here," Martin tapped his hand to the van, made some old parts fall out.

A breif silence were created by the people.

Sara broke it, "I'm outta here."

"No, no," Martin prevented her, "Just... stay here. I'll find a way."

"Really, dad?" The girl turned a bit disappointed, "How are we gonna save Milo if we don't have a real monster truck like you've said earlier."

"Honey, it's like we always say, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.' This thing isn't exactly like you imagine, but it was made from the parts of monster truck, which shows its strength and spirit to overcome this challenge."

"Is that a story?" Sara questioned.

"I'll tell you later. Now let's go!" Martin raised his hand above, felt confident over this.

* * *

A few minutes later... (in a lousy French voice)

There were the Murphys on the road. Martin was impatient on his way. The sound of motor kept driving through their ears. The noise.

But the gals had already slept. Weird enough, it wasn't because they felt sleepy.

"Ugh!" Sara exclaimed, "Has this thing moved any further?"

"Take it easy," Martin still had his confidence, "This beast needs to start for like ten minutes..."

It was turned out that Martin just in the progress of starting the engine.

"If there's Milo, wake me up!" Brigette yawned, as she went straight to the sleep on the back seat. Sara was jealous, but she took the window seat in the first place so...

After 10 minutes, the motor sound was more real, "Ah there we go!" he said.

"Finally!" The girl sighed. That was going to be a long night for her.

"Let's go!" The man exclaimed, as the van began to move and Sara could feel the scene moving from right to left outside the window, as the car was going and saving the youngest member in the family.

 **10:45 p.m., the library**

Some small preparations were made by Milo. He opened as many curtains and gave in the lights outside, but didn't forget to secure the door tightly. Hard breezes could come in anytime if he weren't careful.

Somehow Milo had known this kind of weather might happen, so he brought out some pretty cool stuffs from the exponential backpack: a sleepbag, a couple of hats and a jacket, with one he having wore already. How convenient!

One more thing he had to do left, was to wake Amanda up and made her sleep properly in the sleeping bag, instead of lying her head and hands on the table.

"Amanda..." He whispered gently, while poking her elbows sensitively enough.

The girl woke up, had a small rest after a nap before confronting Milo, "Milo? What do you need?"

"Well..." Actually the boy felt kinda shy, proved by red color on his cheeks, "I have a sleeping bag over here and since we have to stay here until next morning, I'm wondering if you can use..."

"I'd love to. Thanks, Milo!" She squealed excitedly to his request, and didn't mind anything at all. But after realized it was just one sleeping bag, she turned to ask the boy himself, "But... what about you? How are you gonna sleep with the weather like this?"

"Don't worry. I've secured the doors while you were having a nap," He informed, "I can sleep without a sleeping bag. And I'm wearing a jacket. Oh, I almost forgot!" Then Milo handed to Amanda an extra large jacket, "Here! You can have it."

"Uh... thanks..." And the sunshine boy couldn't be happier to hear that, before he went straight to the sleep on the floor, but didn't forget to whisper a good night, as she did back.

Even though Amanda had received special care from Milo, it still felt missing something. Something that... she couldn't stand if it kept going.

And it was unusual to sleep with a large jacket to cover the cold, and an oversized sleeping bag that could fit enough two people...

Oversized? That gave her an idea though!

"Pzzt, Milo!" She whispered his name, which made him open his eyes, curious, "What is it, Amanda?"

"Um..." It was kind of embarassing for her to offer him though, "You'll never sleep well on that cold floor. Want to share this unusual large sleeping bag?"

"What?" Milo couldn't believe how opened Amanda was, revealed by a blush. But seeing how sastified Amanda was to it, how couldn't he take that, "Well, I don't mind that. But we should be careful on the way."

"I believe you, Milo!" She commented, "And... I can't sleep alone in this large space thingy."

"To be honest, I can't sleep even with a jacket either," He explained to Amanda.

After that, Milo gently got inside of the sleeping bag Amanda had earlier. It was fit enough for them, and the only thing matter was the warm they gave to each other, as the two cuddled and went to sleep right away within their senseless breath.

 **11:15 p.m. on the road**

So far, things had been progressing smoothly. Martin was truly a better driver than the person Sara had in mind. Inside the truck was also the song 'On the Trail', while Sara was reading another Dr. Zone comic book.

"How was your dad driving, honey?" He asked Sara about her dad, referring to himself obviously.

"Good, though the sarcasm wasn't really nice," She commented, "I just hope nothing goes wrong while we..."

And the law hadn't been spoken out just yet. They could strongly feel the car shaking. Were the tires flat?

Hands of both the driver and the girl were holding safety belts, while Brigette slept like she was in heaven, not knowing anything happen and even not associating with any safety gear.

And just like that, Martin had to stop the car in the middle of the road, in which no one was dare to move under that kind of weather.

"What's wrong, dad?" Sara asked.

The father and daughter got out of the car, slightly pushing back and forward a little before coming to conclusion, "Yep. This is bad."

"Are the tires flat? If that the case, it's gonna be a problem,"She worriedly said.

"No, those are not, fortunately," The man stated and could hear his daughter sighed in relief, "But other bad news, the road ahead are pretty bumpy, and there are a few rocks ahead, so we may get it if we go on."

"So, what are we gonna do?"

"Daijoubu!" He calmed his daughter, "I have a shortcut. But that seems dangerous and maybe our only way."

"Do you think of getting back and waiting for tomorrow?" The girl asked.

"Maybe, but like your grandpa always says, 'A Murphy never lets a Murphy behind.'"

* * *

 **Author's Note: The Murphy family plot is so much fun to write!**


	3. Merry Christmas!

**Author's Note: Well, how about that? This chapter appears to be the most excited one, like, honestly, it's the last one of the three! Merry Christmas, or** **Happy** **Hanu** **k** **kah, or whatever you guys are celebrating!**

* * *

 **Tuesday, 25** **th** **December, 12:00 p.m. the library**

A small talk during the sleepover.

The two couldn't sleep just yet. The sound of the breezes swept through their ears and it made an uncomfortable sound. They decided to take it easy, and spent some time to talk, facing the roof of the library.

"So Milo, about the tradition thing."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't answer that question of mine," She retold, "And I just went with the flow and cheered you up."

The boy giggled, "You didn't let me reveal anyway."

"So what is it?" She asked again, hoped getting an answer.

"It's a tradition that happens each year for the Murphys," He said, "A secret though."

"Aww…" the girl yawned, "What's so secret about it? I'm gonna drop you out from the sleeping bag if you don't reveal it," she threatened.

Milo shot back, made the girl face him and teased, "Oh yeah? You can do that right now if you want."

The scene continued. Milo's hand still kept on Amanda's cheek when the girl got another idea to let him reveal, sighed happily, _"Can't believe I'm doing this."_

Milo had no idea where that sigh came from, asked curiously, "What's wrong, Amanda? Have I said something wrong?"

"No, not that…" she shook her head, before getting closer and pressed a small kiss on his cheek. The boy was surprised, seeing Amanda smirk after that kiss in front of him.

He used a piece of handkerchief to wipe the last of the kiss off his cheek before saying, "You just did the tradition."

"I did?" The girl questioned, felt unbeliveable.

"Yes, yes you did!" He stated, "The tradition says that whenever a girl kisses a Murphy man in Christmas, it indicates that she wants to give that man a lucky year without any serious mishap happening. It's kind of our celebration."

"Well, I just revealed that by myself," She smiled.

They shared a laugh to each other, before whispering the good night wish and cuddling the warm for a night long.

 **12:30 p.m., the Maple Street Bridge**

"Here we are, the shortcut," Martin informed to the gals, who included Sara – the one heard her dad. They began to turn to the main street, where the bridge is, "This one is used to be the shortest way to go to school from our house."

"Wait a minute!" Sara realized something, "Why don't we go on this road in the first place? It's a shortcut right?"

A dead silence was made, again.

Martin broke it, "You know, we never asked our elders like that when we were young."

The truck reached to the bridge. The father decided to make slow steps, as he doubted bad things would happen.

"Slow and steady…" he muttered.

Things had been progressing well. They had crossed half of the bridge and went to the downside should be a piece of cake.

Until they heard a crack sound from the bridge.

"Uh… dad!" Sara sensed it, urged her dad, "Can we go faster?"

"Not yet," He insisted, as the truck did go faster by the steep downside.

But Murphy's Law didn't let them cross easily. The bridge immdiately cracked right before they could even reach the other side. The truck fell and landed on the icy river. It was sliding from side to side without any direction, even Martin had tried to slow it down, while Sara was screaming from the other side.

"Darn it, dad!" She exclaimed, "We could suppose to get to the other side if you drove faster!"

The truck then stopped immidiately, in the middle of the ice. It was a moment later, it drove fastly on the flow of the ice river, and the girl screamed again.

"Oh great," She was being sarcastic, " _Now_ we go faster! Dad, please!"

"Come on, hon," Martin assured, "It's not fun anymore if you don't look for an adventure."

He continued, smirked "And… be a dear and take a look at your mother please?"

While he was enjoying driving and his daughter wasn't… at all, a hard rock song from 1996 played on his radio.

"Hey, I love this song!" He commented, humming and moving to the beat while hands moving smoothly on the steering wheel.

 _I've got no time for trivial things_

 _Gotta get up and get out into the world_

 _Find a spot in the middle kings,_

 _Gonna go into the city in a whirl_

 _I gotta go (Go!)_

 _Oh, I'm Mister Go (Go!)_

 _They call me Mister Go_

 _But you know that I feel right (Oh, I feel my babe)_

 _She's all mine (Oh, she says she's all mine)_

 _All the time (Gotta keep it, gotta keep it, keep it going)_

 _She's… all… mine!_

And there came the part he liked most: the guitar solo. It was insanely fit in his intenary: he drove the truck in high speed, going then turning back for a couple of times. He drove onto the shore and frightened his daughter while they were going through the woods. Luck doesn't exist in Martin's vocabulary, but this time was different. He smoothly drove through it and got back to the icy path.

The leftovers from the bridge collapse was an important part of a big jump he made. It formed an uphill, and Martin raised the speed up. The car flew in the sky, crashed on a big pine tree and it coincidentally bounced them back on the road from the other. It was all from Martin's driving skill, and Sara's expression proved it: clenched while holding her fingers on the sides of the chair.

The music came to a big ending.

 _Oh, but you know I've gotta go (Go!)_

 _Gotta get gone, get gone, gone_

 _Go!_

And the father had done his promise: made his way to the school and somehow, it meant that he found Milo.

The car stopped in front of the school after all of the actions from an not-so-ordinary monster truck driver.

Martin asked obliviously, "So how was the trip, Sara?"

"I…" She could barely say anything, indicated that a bad review would come out, but instead, it was a praise, "love it. THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"Wow, really?" Her dad couldn't be happier to hear it."

"Are you kidding? Yes!" She squealed excitedly, "We ice-skated on the icy river. We bounced on a Christmas tree, and it bounced us back to the land. You drove through the deep woods and survied amazingly."

It was a moment later, they heard the engine explode, "And we reached the place just in time. That was… awesome!" Sara was out of words for this and so was the writer who was writing this.

"I'm glad that you're happy. Now-" Martin was about to step down from the truck, but Sara prevented him and accomplished the tradition: gave a kiss on Martin's cheek. He was surprised though, but glad that his daughter learned something about the tradition.

"Okay, don't tell your mom about this," Martin offered and Sara replied, "Will do!" the girl winked, "And let her sleep while we're looking for Milo inside the school."

"Got it!" The father learned something from his daughter as well: the wink.

 **2:00 a.m. inside the school**

Martin and Sara opened the door and went inside the school. The lights were still on even though the school prefers saving the money since the yacht incident.

They still wondered though: Where they should find Milo first, you know, this whole school is big.

"Where should we start, dad?" Sara asked.

"Oh, oh," Martin pointed to the rehearsal room. They both looked from the glass window, saw some students and even a principal slept inside.

"Aww..." He adored that scene, and having spotted his son's best friends, "There are Zack and Melissa!"

"Aww..." Sara followed, "I want the hair of Melissa. It's adorable."

"Now now, let's go in there and ask them where Milo is."

* * *

Scene cuts to Zack and Melissa confronted the Murphy outside the room.

"No, we haven't seen him since 10 p.m." Melissa said.

"Although we assume it's related to missing Amanda," Zack followed, "I think the noise we heard come out from the library."

"Gotcha!" Martin said, "Let's go up there and see."

The quartet walked upstairs and reached the library, and easily opened the doors. The lights had come back on inside the room without the young couple noticing.

They carefully stepped their steps in order not to trigger Murphy's Law. There were a few books falling out but with four people, placing it back was a piece of cake.

Finally, they reached to the main reading space. And a view that almost made them yelp, off-guard.

They saw Milo and Amanda sleep and share a big sleeping bag, while both were wearing jackets and socks. They cuddled while sleeping and faced each other

"Aw..." was the same expression from the four.

"See, they're dating!" Zack smirked confidently to Melissa, "I'm vindicated."

"Milo always knows how to make a girl happy," Martin stated, proud of his son.

"Hey, what's on the floor?" Sara spotted a piece of handkerchief on the floor next to the sleeping bag. She then saw a lip mark on it, "Hey look, guys! Milo must have been kissed by Amanda. Here's a handkerfchief with lip mark on it."

"You're right..." Martin agreed, as he also saw the handkerchief his daughter gave to him eventually.

"So he did do the tradition," Sara stated, while Melissa was curious, "Wait, what was it?"

"It's a very Murphy tradition, Melissa," The Murphy man then informed, "Each Christmas, a female Murphy gives kiss to a male Murphy either on the cheeks or even on the lips when you're an adult. It's a sign of showing the wish of good luck in the future for Murphy men like us."

"Oh, is that so?" She then understood, about why Milo said it was a big secret.

"But Milo here has made a twist to our tradition," The man continued, "Even though this is just the girl he has a crush on, and she hasn't in the family tree yet, he still received the kiss from her. That's kinda something."

"They sure have been through a lot for the whole night," Melissa said, "Just let them be."

 **9:00 a.m.**

The storm had finally over. The school turned into a more delightful place. There were some decorations and the buffet for anyone: students, faculties and even parents who came either to pick up their kids after a long night, or to stay and enjoy the Christmas spirit all over.

"Dad!" Melissa cheered, feeling happy to see her dad again, ran to him for a hug.

"Hey there, hot-shot. How was your last night?" Richard asked.

"Brilliant!" A total in-character review from Melissa, "Although it might be a bit cold."

While with Zack, he received a full family reunion.

"How was your last night son?" Marcus asked.

"Good, I guess," Same as Melissa, Zack had the same compliment, but more sarcastic.

Meanwhile, back to the monster truck which had been parking in front of the school since the night.

The whole family was about to give the mother a surprise, as soon as she woke up for a fresh morning.

Brigette yawned from her seat. She was about to say her good morning until.

"SURPRISE!" The whole family yelled, made her heart almost fall off her body. She knew she was in for a trick in Christmas.

And she was happier to know her precious son sitting next to her.

"Mom!" Milo called her out.

"Milo!" Brigette cheered happily, hugged his son like she had never been, and kissed on the boy's cheek as a tradition. The front seaters smiled for that moment.

"So how was your night at school, Milo?"

"It was great!" Milo was about to tell the part with Amanda too, but he doubted if it would be well received by his mother.

Sara already caught that thought of her brother, taking out a handkerchief, "Well, what is this, lil' brother?"

The boy yelled and grabbed the piece, confusing, "Wait, how did it get here?"

Brigette saw it has a lip mark on it, "Where is that lip mark came from?"

Martin motivated Milo to answer that question by himself, "Well, what are you waiting for, Milo? Tell your mother."

The boy felt kind of anxious for having made a twist to the tradition, but hiding it wasn't a better solution anyway. He sighed before narrating the story.

"Well, I was worrying about Amanda missing in the main room. I came up to the library and saw she was there. I was intended to stay for a while, but then I forgot to close the door, and then it slammed because of the hard wind, and made the whole room suffer a blackout. We had no choice but to stay inside a dark room. And..."

It came to the part Milo sheepishly revealed, "I shared with her my own sleeping bag. We felt that we needed to share as much warmth to each other as possible. And in an attempt of Amanda wanting to know our family tradition, she kissed me on my cheek, and I said that she just did that."

The more Brigette heard it, the happier her smile was. She couldn't calm to the cute moment, rubbed her son's head, "Aw... Milo has a girl friend. Isn't that adorable?"

"No, she's not," Milo's cheeks were colored red then, "Well, she _is_ kind of."

"To me, it was surprised that Amanda got _that_ close to you," Sara commented, "Even though she is a perfectionist and has a strong bond with order, I believe that she do have a thing for you, Milo."

"I guess you're right," Milo nodded, and changing the topic, kind of flirted to his sister "Now... where are we?"

"Oh, that's right," Sara cued him to come closer as she pressed a kiss on his cheek to follow the tradition.

"Merry Christmas, Milo."

"Merry Christmas, Sara."

Everyone in the truck, "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

It was Brigette and Martin's turn, "Now it's our turn!"

"Oh no..." Milo and Sara muttered.

 **9:30 a.m., back to the school**

Melissa and Zack were taking turns to ladling punch, when someone came in, "Hey, Melissa and Zack! Merry Christmas!"

"Hey, Amanda!" Both greeted in unison, "Merry Christmas!"

"Haven't seen you since last night. Have you gone anywhere?" Melissa asked Amanda a question, and she was joking obviously.

"Well, I came to the library and..." She was about to tell the part with her and Milo, but doubting about it.

Zack caught that thought and promptly filled the sentence, "you and Milo were having a good night together. Yes, we've already known."

"But how did you-" The girl didn't even have the time to express her surprise, when Melissa interrupted, "You kiss Milo on his cheek to match up to his family traditon. You're really brave, Amanda."

"It's not like anything," Amanda shyly hided her blush, "But I did want to help Milo finish reading a story."

"You know that as well?" Now Melissa was surprised.

"Yeah. He told me last night."

Zack interrupted the gals conversation, "Hey guys, look! The Murphys are about to leave," He pointed to the monster truck which had already started the motor for a few minutes ago.

"Aw..." Melissa felt bad about that. But it was the police's order and also Martin's intention not to ruin the party the school were having.

"I didn't have a chance to say goodbye!" Amanda rushed outside.

"Hey, wait up!" Melissa said, as she and Zack followed.

Milo was sitting on the back seat, thinking about the night he had with Amanda. He felt so warm and protected. He knew he could hang out with friends and family that he loves.

"Milo!" Suddenly he heard someone scream his name outside. Martin heard that also, opened the window from Milo's seat, let him look outside and see his three friends reach to the car and about to say goodbye.

"Guys!" He was so happy to see them again, "What's going on?"

"Merry Christmas, Milo!" The trio said in unison.

"Merry Chritmas, Zack, Amanda, Melissa!"

"Milo!" Amanda called out his name, "You forgot something."

She took that something out, and it was revealed to be the sleeping bag they had earlier, along with two jackets.

"Oh, thanks!" He took and crammed those inside his backpack, "So, have your parents come yet?"

She shook her head, "Not yet, but they will come soon. And I'll tell them about our story yesterday."

"Okay," Milo replied, "Don't tell them too much though."

"Milo!" Martin said from inside, "It's time to go."

"Oh, right," He came back to his seat, as the window closed and his voice got smaller, "See you guys later! And Merry Christmas."

And there was the car went. But he didn't forget to look outside again, as he saw his three friends waving their hands and opened their mouths to say something, probably a goodbye.

From the trio side, Amanda happily thought.

" _Merry Christmas, Milo! Hope you will a great new year!"_

From the seaters of the truck, Martin was driving very smoothly, and Milo couldn't get Amanda out of his thoughts yet.

" _Merry Christmas, Amanda! Hope you will be as beautiful, and have a lot of fun!"_

And a sweet moment had come to an end.

* * *

A brief cut.

Martin was driving the monster truck as crazily as he did last night. Milo, Sara and Brigette couldn't stop screaming and at the same time, excited about the ride.

"Dad! It is fun, but please!" Sara begged her father.

And it stopped at a frame, as the screen faded to black and the story ended.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Milo winked to the audience.


End file.
